. >>> turning now to the race for the white house. new polls in three battle ground states suggest a possible turning point. president obama's once narrow lead over mitt romney has now widened considerably. in ohio, the president has moved out to a 10 point lead. ohio is traditional been key to any republican presidential victory. in florida, which is another crucial state for the gop, the president is now up by 9 points. in pennsylvania, the president is ahead by 12 points. the polls were conducted in the past week for the "new york times" and cbs news. what's caused this surge in the polls and why does the president seem to be pulling away? ktvu's ken wayne is live in san francisco with some answers to that, and also why this first debate next week is so critical. >> reporter: frank issue number 1 is the economy. many americans believe it's heading in the right direction. mitt romney has been relentlessly pounding president obama about the economy. he did it again today in ohio. >> i don't believe we can afford four more years like